It's good to see Harrison players participating on the boards! However, I'm going to have to disagree with one of Ben's points:
Father Comstock wrote:I understand the disdain for NAC, but the lack of pyramidal tournaments in Indiana is a leading cause of us playing NAC, it's a real bummer. Also as stated, our coach (who is fantastic at her job) has an appreciation for NAC as well as an appreciation for NAQT so we play both.
Having been the St. Joe coach for more than twenty years as well as the historian for the state (through the INQBlots website), I believe I'm qualified to say that this statement is flatly untrue. Before the advent of NAQT and pyramidal quiz bowl in general, Questions Unlimited was basically the only game in town. Both the White River league and the St. Joseph Valley league used their questions. Both Harrison and St. Joe were regulars at NAC. In fact, I'm cited on QBWiki as helping Chip revise his rules.
It was the arrival of Phil Blessman at Culver Academies in 2004 that changed the equation. Suddenly there were multiple pyramidal tournaments within driving distance. At the same time, our league was persuaded to change question providers from QU to NAQT when Chip, after becoming tired of our organizer complaining about incorrect answers in his packets, offered to provide us with better questions that he would proof himself... for an extra fee. [You read that right. He wanted to charge us extra to ensure that answer lines would be correct.]
Within a few years, Culver and St. Joe stopped attending the "Classic State" tournament with QU. This boycott is certainly not because we're afraid of the competition. It is rather because neither of our schools is willing to support QU any more. Suffice it for me to summarize it as documented accounts of plagiarism, unprofessionalism, and question emphasis and quality:
http://www.qbwiki.com/wiki/view/Criticisms_of_the_NAC. Also, St. Joe stopped attending NAC soon after finishing fifth in the nation one year, partly because I noticed that, although I would say I had an outstanding team, the level of our competitors was down. There were no DCCs, Dormans, Maggie Walkers, State Colleges, etc.
Meanwhile, the White River league continues to use QU. Because both Harrison and Zionsville have won NAC, there is no movement away from it. I do agree that your coach is fantastic, but I will add that she is devoted to QU. She has repeatedly held it up as the superior format. (For example, she says that NAQT questions discriminate against female players.)
Therefore, the lack of pyramidal tournaments is
not the leading cause of you playing NAC. It's the fact that half the state as represented by the largest league thinks QU equals "quiz bowl".
Can this change? I've been working at it for a while, but I could use your persuasive abilities as players who have experienced both types.
By the way, good luck this weekend. Despite what you may have perceived from me throughout this post, I genuinely want Harrison to succeed!